Using a metal pipe ripped from a shower, the prisoner and an accomplice had smashed a hole through a concrete wall at a jail in the Brazilian state of Goias.

After the smaller man crawled through and escaped, our tubby hero made his bid for freedom.

Unfortunately for him, despite the frantic efforts of fellow prisoners trapped behind him in the cell, he was stuck fast.

Prisoner stuck in wallSource:Supplied

Guards called firefighters who used a sledgehammer to free the unnamed prisoner.

"He has a very large physique and is also very tall," Lieutenant Tiago Costa of the local fire brigade said.

"The other prisoners tried to push him but he stayed stuck in the wall. He started screaming in pain, and that was when the prison guards were alerted."

Prison breaks are common in Brazilian jails, where conditions are severe.

According to Amnesty International's annual report: “Prisons remained severely overcrowded and inmates were held in conditions amounting to cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment. The authorities had effectively lost control of many facilities, leading to a series of riots and homicides."